File-holder



(No Model.) I

E. W.- WOODRUFF.

- FILE HOLDER. No. 306,308. Patented Oct. '7, 18842" arnnr tries.

EDMUND \V. \VOODRUFF, OI! \VASHINGTON, DICTllRIC/Tl. OF COLUMBIA.

FILE-HOLDER.

JPILCIFICATICN forming part of Letters Patent No. 306,308, dated October '7, 1884.

.Appliration filed January 13, 1882.

My invention relates to that class of file holders for which Letters Patent No. 76,287 were granted to Voodruff and Green; and the present improvement consists principally in devices whereby the file-holder is adapted to be made with front and sides of metal instead of wood, as heretofore.

I am aware that file-holders have heretofore been made of sheet metal by methods differ ent from mine, and I therefore do not propose to make any claim to a metallic box, broadly considered.

For use in many places, itis desirable that the holder shall be made of non-inflammable material, so that the contents may not be exposed to destruction in consequence of the inflammability of the inelosure. For that reason I propose to make the front and sides of my boX of metal.

The points upon which I found my claims are these: First, the front and sides are made of sheet metal, preferably in one piece, fastened at the lower edge to a base which is entircly inolosed within and between the sides, and may therefore be made of wood or metal, as preferred; second, the sides and front may be corrugated, so as to present great stiffness with little weight; third, the card-holder may be'made from the material of the front itself; fourth, the finger-ring may be made integral with the base or the slotted base-plate, as preferred.

Th at others may fullynnderst-and my invention, I will more particularly describe it, having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention. Fig.2 is atransverse section of the same. Figs. 3 to 9 represent details and metlwds of fastening.

The front a and sides I) of my box I make of suitable sheet metal, good charcoal-iron being preferred. 7 It is cut in a single piece from a sheet, and almost without waste.

The upper (Xo model.)

or exposed edge is properly turned over, so as to present a smooth edge, not liable to injure the hands of those who may handle it. To increase'the stiffness of the sides. and front, corrugations may be made in the side portion,

as shown, and similar corrugations may be made in the front also. These corrugations are not necessities to the functions of the box, but render it stronger and more durable. The

base plate or piece 0 may be made of wood or of metal. The latter may be preferred for many reasons. The base 0 has a rabbet, (I, along its margin below, to receive the edge of the side or front piece, a b, which is secured therein by nails, rivets, or otherwise, as shown, without coming in contact with. the surface upon which the central part of the base rests, and the metallic edge is therefore concealed in said rabbet.

The base 0 may be made in a single plate of iron, the side piece then being turned under and secured to a lateral flange around the edge of said plate, whereby rabbets both above and below are formed, the lower one to conceal the edge of the side plate, and the upper one to similarly conceal the rivet-heads and prevent contact thereof with the papers in the holder.

If the plates 0 are made of metal which is any degree malleable, the side plates may be secured by pins cast integral with the plates and riveted down after the side plate has been put in place, as shown in Fig. The fingerring a is cast integral with the metallic part of the base, whether any portion of the same is wood or not, and it protrudes through the front, as shown.

I prefer to employ with the follower or fileboard the ordinary clamping-lever well known in connection with the paper-files manufactured by me. This cla1nping-lever has sometimes had a sliding connection with the baseboard by mcans of hooking-lugs at its bottom, which, turning inward or toward each other, pass over the edges of a central rail or section in the base-plate, formed by making parallel slots therein, or otherwise, or if a slotted plate, is employed to-receive the ordinary clamping-lever h, when used with a wooden base, said plate is secured at the rear end by a crossbar below the level of said plate, which enters and sides I) composed of sheet metal corrugated a groove cut in the end of the base, as heretofore, and at the front end it will be confined vertically by the front a and longitudinally by the shoulders i but when the plate 1 is enlarged so as to include the whole base the necessity for securinga separate slotted plate disappears,

A card-holder is generally, it not always,

required, and for this purpose I punch lips 7 outward from the surface of the front a, co1npletely detaching th em except from, their back, so that a card may be. slipped behind them and securely held there. Ordinarily, if these lips are punched outward so as to protrude from the surface, they will answer every purpose; but it may sometimes be desirable to protect the edges of the card, and in that event the whole surface of the metal, except said lips, may be punched backward so as to leave a recess behind the lips, as in Fig. 9.

Having described my invention, what I claim 'as new is 1. A file-holder constructed with front a in lines substantially parallel with the upper edges, combined with a base having a marginal rabbet, d; to receive and conceal the lower edges of said front and sides, and the fastenings for the same, a movable clamping-lever and a slot or slots for the same to travel in, substantially as set forth.

2. A file-holder constructed with a front and sides of sheet metal, the lower edges whereof are turned inward, combined with a 4. A file-holder constructed with front a and sides I) composed of sheet metal, with the lower edges turned inward, combined with a base, 0, of cast metal, all in one piece, with marginal rabbet and central slot and a clamp ing-lever traversing therein, as set forth.

5. A rile-holder constructed with a front, a, and sides I) of sheet metal, combined with a base, 0, and linger-ring 0, cast upon the metallic slot plate so as to protrude through the front plate, a, as set forth.

(S. A file-holder having metallic front and side plates the lower edges whereof are bent inward, fastened to the base a and concealed in the marginal rabbet thereof, and provided with lips 7t- 7:, punched out from the front plate and jointly adapted to receive and hold a label card, as set forth.

, E. \V. XVGODRU FF.

\Vitnesses:

It. I). 0. S njrrn, M. V. SAIIri-r. 

